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JOHNS HOPKINS NEUROSURGEON WILL BE ONE OF ‘NIFTY FIFTY’ TO SPEAK AT D.C.-AREA SCHOOLS

--Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa will tell students his inspiring story of moving from migrant farm worker to top brain surgeon

June 10, 2010-In an effort to ignite a passion for science and engineering in middle and high school students, Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa has been chosen by the USA Science & Engineering Festival as part of a group of 50 scientists who will speak at Washington, D.C.-area schools this fall. Quinones-Hinojosa, M.D., an associate professor of neurosurgery and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and his colleagues in this so-called “Nifty Fifty” were selected from hundreds of applicants for their differing fields, talents, divergent backgrounds and ages, and ability to convey the importance of science to our nation’s future.

Quinones-Hinojosa and the other Nifty Fifty members will speak at local schools during the duration of the festival, from October 10 to 24, 2010.

Once a migrant farm worker, Quinones-Hinojosa is now a top-rated neurosurgeon who specializes in treating patients with brain and spinal cord tumors. He also leads research efforts to understand the role of stem cells in forming brain tumors and the potential role of these cells in fighting brain cancer.

Other members of the Nifty Fifth include high-tech entrepreneurs and financiers, policy makers, actors, journalists, educators, researchers, explorers, video game developers, spies, alien hunters, astronauts and brain surgeons. They are supported in this project by festival host Lockheed Martin and sponsor Life Technologies.